


There was no girl as warm as you

by LunaRowena



Series: Watcher Calendula [7]
Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Fluff, Fluffvember
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-16 18:49:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 2,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21275984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaRowena/pseuds/LunaRowena
Summary: Xoti is really cute, but Cal has no clue how to relationship... Help?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm going to try to fill some [Fluffvember prompts](https://lunarowena.tumblr.com/post/188196514066/fluffvember-octobers-great-but-after-all-the), though not with the "every day" dedication of [the drabble project](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21275861/chapters/50659070).
> 
> This takes place in the same Modern AU universe as "[Coffee Problem](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19902598)."

“Azucena!” Cal just about jumped out of her skin as her sister’s feet came into contact with hers. “I said we could share a blanket, but if you put your cold feet on me one more time–”

Az stuck out her tongue and flicked a piece of popcorn at Cal. “It’s not my fault you’re warm.”

“So I’m getting punished because you can’t regulate heat?”

“Oh, hush. You were the one giving me grief earlier for talking over the movie. Even though you keep checking your phone every thirty seconds.”

The TV flickered with… something. Honestly, Cal hadn’t been paying attention for a while. Today… had been a day. That was one way to put it. Sometimes she was thankful to Edér for getting Xoti to talk to her. Sometimes she wanted to crawl in a hole and die. It varied from minute to minute.

But she only had herself to blame for giving Xoti her phone number. If she hadn’t, there would have been no chance she wouldn’t text Cal.

“Got a secret boyfriend?”

“No.” Cal checked her phone again for good measure, in case the sound had stopped working.

“Secret girlfriend?”

“...no.”

“That was a pause! You totally do!”

“I am completely regretting everything about this.”

“You have to tell me everything or I’ll put my feet on you again.”

Cal could feel the heat being sucked out of her foot as Az inched her foot closer. “It’s not a girlfriend. I just met her today. I gave her my number but she hasn’t texted me.”

“Can’t you text her first?”

“I don’t have her number.”

“Why are you so bad at this?” Az stuck her her foot on Cal’s leg.

“Gods, Az, thanks!” Cal threw herself off the couch. “At least the juice will be nice to me. Don’t hog the whole blanket.”

“Get me some, too!” Az called.

Cal was deciding whether to dignify that with a response or not when her phone buzzed in her pocket. She stopped dead and grabbed it.

> _Hey, this is Xoti :)_

Maybe everything wasn’t terrible. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Star-gazing was a good idea.”

“Star-gazing was a good idea,” Xoti said.

Cal turned her head to look at Xoti. Her dark hair spread out on the blanket and she stared up at the sky with wonder, her eyes sparkling in the moonlight. Keep it together, Cal. “Yeah, uh, I had been kind of afraid you would prefer watching the sunrise, with Eothas and all.”

“Oh, I’d like that too. Maybe not in the same night, though.” Xoti turned her head to look at Cal and smiled.

Cal was pretty sure she was blushing. Good thing it was dark. Or maybe she wanted Xoti to notice? She didn’t know how this worked. “What god is in charge of the stars, do you wonder?”

“Huh.” Xoti’s eyes lifted back to the sky. “Yeah, ‘cause Eothas’s got the sun and Ondra’s got the moon. Who’s got the stars? Wael maybe?”

“Right. A bunch of little, shining, blinking eyeballs in the sky.”

Xoti rolled her eyes, but laughed. “That’s a lot less romantic.”

“Ah. Shit. Sorry.”

“You can make it up to me on our second date to watch the sunrise.”

“I get a second date? Even after that?”

“Yeah, I think so. Being here with you makes the sky eyeballs romantic.”

Cal’s mouth went dry. “I haven’t… I haven’t done this before. Dating.”

Xoti’s eyes met hers. “I… haven’t either.”

Cal struggled not to laugh from the sudden rush of giddiness. “Can, can I hold your hand?”

“Yeah!” Xoti grabbed Cal’s hand. It was rougher than she had expected, but warm in hers as their fingers intertwined.

Cal was sure everyone within a mile could hear her heartbeat as it pounded in her ears. She would just live in this moment forever, out in a field with a pretty girl and no one around but the stars.

Xoti giggle snorted. “Sky eyeballs. That one’s gonna stick with me.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You are very endearing when you are half-asleep.” / “Your bed head is really cute.”

Cal stifled another yawn and blinked heavily. It wouldn’t be any good for her to go planting her face in the sand before the sun even rose. Probably during, too. She couldn’t imagine Eothas appreciating that very much. Which was why she was perfectly happy enjoying the sun when it was already up. There was no godly reason for kith to be up in this dark hour.

From beside her on the beach, Xoti’s shoulder bumped Cal’s. “Doing alright?”

“I’m alright, I’m just–” despite Cal’s efforts the yawn escaped. “I’m just not usually up yet.”

“You didn’t need to go through all this trouble for me.”

“But it’ll make you happy. And you’re cute when you smile.”

Xoti giggled. “And you’re very sweet when you’re half asleep.”

Maybe if she concentrated really hard at staring at the horizon, her eyes would stay open. “Only about a quarter asleep.” Darn yawns. “Maybe a third.”

“You can lean your head on my shoulder if you wanna,” Xoti said casually.

While one part of Cal’s mind screamed at her to abort mission, another part was pretty sure that she would forever regret turning down this offer. She positioned herself leaning on Xoti’s shoulder. Her body radiated heat beneath Cal’s ear, a notable contrast to the cold breeze.

“Sorry, I know I don’t make a very good pillow.”

“In some ways, you’re far superior to my pillow.”

“In some?” Xoti rested her head on top of Cal’s.

“Mmhmm.” Cal snuggled into her neck. “I wouldn’t get up this early to bring my pillow out to the beach to see the sun rise.”

“If you can keep your eyes open, I think it’s starting.”

That was the last thing Cal remembered before she was shook back awake.

“Cal?”

Cal sat up, running her fingers through her hair. It was bright out now. It wasn’t bright out before. Finding her bearings, she looked over at Xoti. “I missed it? I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m glad you tried, but you don’t need to change your whole sleep schedule for me. Get sleep when you can. Besides,” Xoti winked, “Your bed head is really cute.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting them a coffee just the way they like it.

Cal had thought this would be an easy, obvious date. Coffee. In the coffee shop where they met. It was uninspired, even. But then she made the mistake of volunteering to order the coffee while Xoti grabbed a table. Cal liked black coffee. Xoti liked… complicated coffee.

“One venti drip coffee black, one…”

Edér watched her expectantly from behind the counter.

“…um…” Cal stared at the chalkboard listing out the drinks. “Mocha? With whipped cream? And… extra flavors?”

“Cal, you gotta tell me what the flavors are,” said Edér patiently.

Good thing there wasn’t a line. “I don’t know what tastes good together. I just know she likes drinks that taste like candy bars.”

“We do have our holiday specials now,” he pointed to another chalkboard.

“Already? But it’s only Deep Autumn.”

Edér shrugged. “It’s after the Final Hour.”

“But it’s not even End of Reap yet!” Cal squinted at the listings. “Fine, I’ll take the gingerbread one with whipped cream. Grande.”

“One venti drip coffee, one grande gingerbread latte extra whip.”

“Yes that.”

“What’s this?” Xoti asked as Cal handed her the coffee.

Cal slid into her chair. “Uh… gingerbread latte?”

Xoti took a sip. “This is delicious!”

“Oh, thank Berath.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tucking their hair behind their ear to help them get it out of their face.

“–and I just feel as if, as if it’s my job to save all these souls, you know? If I don’t, who’s gonna?” Xoti ranted.

Cal and Xoti walked down the quad of Cal’s campus. Most of the leaves had fallen off the trees by now and those that hadn’t were being helped along by large gusts of wind. The wind was doing work on their hair, too, with Xoti’s dark hair flew wildly around her head to match her agitation. Cal was sure she was going to have enough tangles of her own to comb out later.

Cal pulled her scarf tighter around her neck. “You think that has an effect on the cycle of reincarnation?”

Xoti threw her hands up. “I don’t know! But as long as the adra–” the wind whipped a large chunk of Xoti’s hair straight into her face. “Gahk!”

Cal closed the distance between them, reaching out to sweep the offending hair behind Xoti’s ear. Xoti’s brown eyes stared into Cal’s with an intensity that stopped Cal mid breath. She let her hand linger, cupping Xoti’s cheek.

“Sorry, I–”

Xoti’s lips crashed into hers, stealing the rest of Cal’s words. The world stopped and all Cal was aware of was Xoti’s warm mouth on hers and the cold of the air. Should she worry her lips were chapped? That seemed like a worry for another time and right now she should concentrate on this and this moment and–

“Blergh.” Cal stopped the kiss to pull hair out of her mouth. The wind immediately threw more back in her face. “Maybe we should continue this… inside?”

“Less wind and less layers sound good to me,” Xoti winked.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cuddling

Graduate school was going to kill her. It would be some irony: by trying to study Berath, she died. Cal stifled a yawn and failed, her chest rising and falling. Next to her on the bed, Xoti shifted from where she was wrapped around Cal.

“Sorry,” Cal said.

“Don’t apologize for being tired,” said Xoti as she snuggled back into Cal.

“I just feel like it’s not fair to you,” said Cal, “that I spend all my time on school work so when I do get to see you I’m just… dull.”

“Is that what you’re thinking about so serious-like? The mysteries of the universe?”

“About how the mysteries of the universe are going to kill me from exhaustion.” Cal stroked Xoti’s hair. “What are you thinking about?”

“The human heart is the tenth organ to liquefy after death,” Xoti said. “I can hear your heart beating,” she continued, seeming to try to clarify.

“Well, good, it’s not liquefied yet, then.”

“Nah, it takes over four weeks after you die for your internal organs to decompose. Stops beating, obviously, but you got some time before it’s gone.”

Now Cal was too aware of her own heart beating against her rib cage, an opposite pressure to Xoti’s head from above.

“Of course,” Xoti’s fingers traced along Cal’s collarbone. “the heart goes after the brain. Doesn’t really mean anything ‘cause you’re dead, but I like to think that feeling lasts longer than thought.

“Hmm, so maybe I should stop thinking about school and pay attention to you?”

Xoti booped Cal on the nose. “Maybe.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caring for the other when sick/hurt

Apparently it wasn’t grad school that was going to kill her, it was this head cold. Cal blew her nose again. And if she survived this head cold, then grad school was going to kill her again, having to make up all the work she’d missed from having the head cold.

Someone knocked on the front door. “Maia, can you get that?” she called out to her roommate. No response.

Groaning, Cal heaved herself out of bed and shuffled to the apartment door. Whoever was piling misery on top of her existent misery was a terrible person. She pulled the door open to reveal Xoti on the other side.

Xoti held out a jug of orange juice. “I brought supplies.”

Okay, maybe not the most terrible. Cal sniffled. “Thanks. You probably want to stay away from me, though. I promise you that you don’t want this.”

Xoti gingerly handed over the juice. “No touching, but I wanted to make sure you’re alright.”

“I’m terrible. I’m dying. You can say goodbye to me now.”

Placing her hands on her hips, Xoti gave Cal That Look. “Have you eaten?”

“Um, at some point.”

“Recently?”

“...I don’t remember.” As if reminded of the existence of food, Cal’s stomach growled.

“Okay, I’ll leave as soon as I make sure you drink that juice and eat some food.”

Cal acquiesced, letting Xoti into the apartment.

“Now you just sit down before you fall over.” Xoti walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. “Do you people eat food ever?”

Cal sat down at the bar. “I’m usually the one that cooks.” She took the cap off the orange juice and took a swig out of the jug.”

Xoti glanced back at her. “I can get you a glass.”

“Now it’s mine forever; Maia can’t touch it.”

Xoti rifled through the fridge. “I’ll make some chicken soup for you later, but right now I can make you a sandwich? On a... tortilla? A tortilla wrap?”

Cal pulled more tissues out of her pocket. “Sounds great.”

It was less than great, but considering she couldn’t taste anything, probably nothing would be great.

Cal hugged the jug of juice to her chest. “I’m just… going to go back to sleep…”

“Good plan,” Xoti blew her a kiss. “Feel better.”

“I’m going to be miserable forever.”

“At least don’t go dying on me. Meeting Berath will probably give you a lot of research material, but you won’t be able to finish your thesis.”

Cal grumbled under her breath and headed back to bed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reading together

Cal sighed as she flipped through another page of her textbook. She did care about the concepts, but she had been staring at the same paragraph for so long trying to imprint it on her brain. It didn’t seem to be working.

From the other side of the couch, Xoti turned the page of her own hefty tome. Her legs entwined with Cal’s where they met at the middle cushion.

“You don’t have homework. What are you reading?” asked Cal.

“The Twelve Books of Nyrwith,” answered Xoti. “Not exactly light bedtime reading, but I got in an argument with some moron today and I need to prove my point about the shepherding of souls.”

“You guys are nerds,” Maia called from the kitchen.

“We’re reading religious books about death,” Cal called back.

“Goth nerds,” Maia retorted.

“Gay goth nerds,” Xoti yelled.

“That’s a population segment no one writes books for,” said Cal.

“What’d’ya mean?” asked Xoti.

“Novels about lesbians tend to be depressing, and not in a good way.”

Xoti got a gleam in her eye and pulled out her phone. “Have you ever heard of this glorious thing called ‘fanfiction?’” She scooted closer to Cal.

“What, like people writing fiction about other fiction?”

“Yeah, so, did you ever read Long Past Dawn?”

“Yeah, and they both died in the end.” Cal pulled up next to Xoti so she could see what Xoti was pulling up on her phone.

Xoti held up her phone triumphantly. “So here are,” she checked the page, “one-hundred-and-thirty-seven stories about Monique and Danika living happily ever after. I may have written three of them.”

“Are you serious?”

“Here, pull it up on your laptop and we can read together,” said Xoti.

Xoti leaned on Cal’s shoulder as they scrolled through the stories, dreaming about happy endings.


End file.
